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arXiv:1907.06520cs.CY

Tracking sex: The implications of widespread sexual data leakage and tracking on porn websites

Elena Maris, Timothy Libert, Jennifer Henrichsen

Abstract

This paper explores tracking and privacy risks on pornography websites. Our analysis of 22,484 pornography websites indicated that 93% leak user data to a third party. Tracking on these sites is highly concentrated by a handful of major companies, which we identify. We successfully extracted privacy policies for 3,856 sites, 17% of the total. The policies were written such that one might need a two-year college education to understand them. Our content analysis of the sample's domains indicated 44.97% of them expose or suggest a specific gender/sexual identity or interest likely to be linked to the user. We identify three core implications of the quantitative results: 1) the unique/elevated risks of porn data leakage versus other types of data, 2) the particular risks/impact for vulnerable populations, and 3) the complications of providing consent for porn site users and the need for affirmative consent in these online sexual interactions.

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cs.CYComputers and Society

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Linked by 3 identifiable commenters in 3 comments across 2 threads, from Jul 2019 to Jul 2019. Found in 2 HN submissions from Jul 2019 to Jul 2019. Open submission discussions.

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Discussed in comments2 threads

  1. Tracking Sex: Implications of widespread data leakage and tracking on porn sites 1 comment
  2. Pornography sites found to be riddled with trackers from major tech companies 2 comments

    • Direct link to the underlying paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.06520 The "even in incognito mode" part seems odd: > What Jack does not know is that incognito mode only ensures his browsing history is not stored on his computer. The sites he visits, aswell as any third-party…

      makepanicView on HNParent context

    • It's funny an article published behind a paywall about facebook and google partnering to track your pr0n use has a message that says, as soon as the page loads, you're in private mode". NYT has become such a tabloid. Study is here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1907.06520.pdf Now we can…

      TheBobinatorView on HNParent context

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